THERE WERE SOME good moments from a “pen and pad” session in Reno last week with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., that have yet to be reported.

Reid was asked if Hillary Clinton would run for President.

Reid: “I don’t know. I like Hillary very, very much. She would be a great president but she has to make a personal decision first, if she wants to do it.”

RGJ: Would you urge her to run?

Reid: “If she asks me I will give her my honest opinion.”

RGJ: And what would that be?

Reid: “I will give it to her.”

REID WAS ALSO ASKED about the possibility of the Washington Redskins football team changing their nickname. Reid has said in the past he would like to see the team adopt a new nickname.

Yet he threw in a new wrinkle, saying Redskins owner Daniel Snyder tried to give members of the Las Vegas Paiutes gifts for them to support the “Redskins” brand.

“Redskins is a racist name and native Americans believe that,” Reid said. “They have tried to buy off some of my Nevada Indians and they have not been able to do that, giving them trucks and stuff like that.

“The Indians, they understand that this is an issue that deals with them,” Reid said. “It is a moral issue with them. And he (Snyder) can hang on for a little while but it is not going to go on forever.”

Reid’s senior adviser for Nevada media, Kristen Orthman added, “Yes it is the Las Vegas Paiute Tribe he was referencing, and they were approached about being given a van by Snyder's group and they declined the van.”

My preference would be the Redskins change their name to the Washington Senators. It was the name of a baseball team that played in the nation’s capital — off and on — from 1891 to 1971. There was also a Washington Senators NFL team in 1921.

But with the hassle Reid, the senate majority leader, has given Mr. Snyder about his football team’s nickname, “the Senators” might be the last name Snyder would choose.

That's the problem with the Dems, they never have gotten past their plantation ownership days. They just repackaged it into a kinder gentler slavery by government instead of individuals and they made us all live on their government run plantation.

Dead on comment. And oh yea, recent CBS report showed a poll that over 90% of indians were not even offended by comments and used the term for some of their own teams at schools. Perhaps if he brought to vote some of the over 320 bills congress has sent him we might get something done in this country!

Patrick Kearns Hey Patrick, is the Klan of today really as bad as Harry Reid? I mean, they both have the same political association as you say, but one is powerful and has destroyed much of america which will have to be rebuilt if Republican and Tea Partiers get elected while the other is just a bad dream turned into a joke.

Hey Harry why don't you tell us how the Chinese are buying you and your son off with the solar farms in Nevada (at American taxpayer expense)? Who did you buy off in your last Senatorial election? I guess paying the union employees to go out to vote is bit different buying power. You and your fellow radical left wing progressives have ruined this country!

Or how about the Washington Runnin' Rebels, in full Confederate regalia, like UNLV? Wanna change a mascot? Change the one right at your home. What a hypocrite.
Am I for changing other people's mascots? No way! Play the hand dealt by history already.

THE mere fact that we have a super corrupt Washington Senator being upset MORALLY at a football team's that they've had for what? 70 years, is laughable. THIS is a distraction moment . PAY NO ATTENTION to the ILLEGAL AND MORALLY BANKRUPT President, and Harry Reid getting ready to give illegal amnesty to illegal aliens so they can illegally steal yet another election. No, by all means, pay attention to a football team's name. WE GOT TRILLION dollar deficits, near $20 trillion national debt, ISIS terrorist sneaking into America, Americans being beheaded, a crap health care mandate that's breaking American businesses, but lets all worry about the REDSKINS?????

And a habitual liar. He always has stories about unidentifiable "others" who have told him stories about how the other side has done bad things. His statements almost ALWAYS turn out to be outright lies. No reason to believe this statement is anything but a complete, total, fabricated lie.

I am Cherokee. It is far more offensive for people to treat Indians as if we are pieces of furniture and cannot speak for ourselves. We were involved in the creation of the team, the name, and the logo. Leave it alone, potstirrers...

Tamara, since you are Cherokee, I'd like to ask you a question. Many MEXICAN ILLEGAL ALIENS claim that the American South West was 'stolen' from them. It is my contention that American INDIAN Tribes (Cherokee/Apache/Navajo, not Mexicans) owned it first. Then Spain/Mexico came in and took the land. I know for a fact that Geronimo and the Apache were fighting Mexico before they fought the US military. But given the fact that your native lands are in American territory, and that for generations, you have been AMERICAN, would you say you'd rather be part of America? OR part of Mexico? AND I always say to Mexicans who claim "YOU STOLE OUR LAND", that it is like a THIEF, upset someone stole from them. Would you agree to that? I contend that Mexicans have NO RIGHT to claim NATIVE AMERICAN status as they are CENTRAL AMERICAN INDIAN and 1/2 Spaniard. Much like many NORTH AMERICAN(USA) Americans who have mixed heritage. AND I contend that 99.99% of American Indians/Native Americans would rather be part of the USA, not Mexico.

Thank you for your take on the situation, Tamara. Horrible Harry rarely misses out on an opportunity to display is ignorance on any issue. The name and logo of the Redskins are symbols of respect toward all native Americans. HH has to call attention to himself as often as he can. He is a small, mean person who has done great harm to our great nation.

Vincent R Bickler Sorry..... The logo was created by Vince Lombardi when he took the job as head coach. He removed thelong used tomahawk and replaced it with the present look that is similar to his old Green Bay teams

James Bacon The Cherokee are part of what was left after disease brought by Europeans wiped out most of the population among the Americans after the Europeans started their first settlements. The are an Eastern tribe which ranged largely through the Southern part of the Appalachian Mountains, so they had no part in the Southwest. As you mentioned the Apache and other tribes in the Southwest fought first the Spaniards and then the Mexicans for several hundred years before the US came into the picture. So the Mexicans have no claim as natives of the land and should be so rejected aong with their faux "Atzlan."

Tamara, I always thought that most Indians were pretty proud about the Braves, Redskins, Indians. Nice to see you validate that. Seems to me the Redskin logo, which I learned from your post was created by Indians, was very respectful, in fact of the three I mentioned, the most respectful.

How ironic that the NCAA which is always going on about Indian names is located in Indianapolis, Indiana!

I can tell you when Stanford Univ changed from the Indians to the Cardinal (not the bird, not the religious official, but the name of a bright red color) - at every game at the entrance to the stadium was a local tribal chief decked out in eagle feathers and buckskins, representing his tribe. He was quietly but persistently there trying to let the university know that the tribes wanted the name kept. See, he was proud that Stanford respectfully took the name and was a respected institution that did wonderful, good and kind things. But, he was pretty much ignored by the white decision makers. More irony.

Christine Guinn, I was thinking about California, specifically. Most of the Mexicans chose to be part of the US. They saw the benefits of being a state, vs being under the thumb of the Mexican government which treated them no better than England treated the colonies.

Why do people always claim to be 'part Cherokee' and state the name doesn't bother them? If you are going to make claim about being Native, be more imaginative; claim Paiute, Shoshone, Kickapoo....always claiming Cherokee creates dubious doubts....besides, how does some small claimed distant ancestor entitle one membership in a particular ethnicity that further provides instant credibility to the social definition of a racial slur...? Are you listening, Tamara?

Paula Starr Eugene Herrod No distant ancestor. My Grandmother was full blooded Choctaw. Is that good enough for you? My sister in law is full blooded Hoopa, she doesn't have a problem with the Redskins either. Is that enough?

Kimberly Aultman Like I said....a distant relative; are you even enrolled with the Choctaw Nation? Can you even speak the language? No, it's not enough...it's always on the grandmother's side. This example, or similar examples, are jokes in the Native community. People claiming a small quantum, then stating, "...it doesn't bother me...." Ishkish shoowa chia micha achukma pisa keyo...If you were really Choctaw, then you could read this...ohoyo nahollo!

Paula Starr Eugene Herrod Actually, yes, I am taking lessons. The nation offeres them on their website. I'm not enrolled because I refuse to speak to my father because he beat the crap out of me when I was a kid. I need a copy of his birth certificate to enroll. So maybe when he is dead. My grandmother never spoke to us in anything but English because she felt it was important that all of her kids spoke English. I'm so sorry I couldn't arrange for my Grandfather to also be Native. So what you are really saying is that, unless someone is full blooded they don't count. How racist of you.

Kimberly Aultman Racist of me...? you're the one supporting a racial slur; check the dictionary, an English dictionary...the term is defined as a racial slur. Besides, the Choctaw Nation has a resolution against the use of this term...Live and learn....ohoyo nahollo...Also, the legal definition of a Native is further derived from the following Supreme Court decision, Morton v. Mancari, 1974....Read the decision, check some dictionary definitions, do some additional research regarding the etymology of the term, then maybe you would be qualified to discuss the issue, ohoyo nahollo....

Don't care what the Nation has to say. I make my own decisions. You are entitled to your opinion. I however am sick and tired of people like you telling me I am not "indian enough". I've been hearing that since I was a kid. I respect all of my ancestors (except my father) and people like you don't get to decide. Wop is listed in the dictionary as a racist term, but my to my stepdad and his family it was what they called themselves. Webster didn't get to decide for them that it was racist. They refuse still, to quit using the term just because other people tell them it's racist.
It's too bad you seem to be so willing to see an insult where none exists.

Kimberly Aultman The slur does exist whether your limited cognition processes it or not. Wop is not being used as a mascot in our nation's city of government. You made no response to Morton v. Mancari, so I presume you don't do any type of legal assessment or analysis of issues that pertain to American Indians. "...I make my own decisions...," based on what hypothetical construct or perspective; in other words, what is the academic basis of your assertions, or is there one....? So, you want to be a 'real Indian,' based on what? No language, no enrollment, no cultural insights, no educational level regarding our community's issues, ....again, back to the beginning: some small claimed portion of your ancestry gives you concrete insight and cultural relevance to speak as a Native individual?

Kimberly Aultman So, after all that, you admit to not speak as a Native, but your grandmother could....good. Now, go check the dictionary and begin your educational process....P.S. I am not Choctaw; but I made the effort to learn it, to write it, and I have published work in the language.....and "Redskin" is definitely a racial slur; there is simply to much linguistic evidence to academically argue otherwise.

Paula Starr Eugene Herrod who would you suggest I should have learned the language from? My grandmother would not speak it to us. I only found that it was available a few years ago through my cousin, who lives on the reservation. Right now I have my hands full teaching my kids French and Spanish (their choices), which is required by the state we live in. Two more years, and I will be able to persue my own education again, including more classes in Choctaw. And if I can actually get a copy of my father's BC, by then we will be enrolled. My girls are looking forward to it. I have always wanted it, but like I said... I don't play the slur of the day PC game. Everyone is insulted by something, it's ridiculous.

Kimberly Aultman Send me a message on my page; I can try to help you....I am fortunate in that I learned my Native language as a child; Choctaw was learned after a few years in a BIA school which consisted mostly of Choctaw.....And, it's not the 'slur of the day PC game.' This argument against Reds*** has persisted for decades. The National Congress of American Indians issued a proclamation against the term in 1968. Stephanie Fryberg, a psychology professor at Stanford has demonstrated how this type of iconography affects the impression of children and how they internalize this type of imagery; interesting stuff. She is Native also....there

"Redskins" was chosen to honor Native Americans, not deride them. "Senators", however would make the team an object of derision.
Most Americans, having to choose between 100 Native Americans and 100 Senators would choose the Native Americans every time.

Michael Bobier these people who are claiming to be "native" Americans trace their heritage to asia, not America Since America did not exist until 1785 its a bit of a stretch to say they are native Americans. WHo was here when they migrated to this continent?

I know it’s off topic, but our country is losing it’s freedoms. We have Donald Sterling forced to sell his NBA team. We have expensive health insurance forced on all of us. Even auto insurance is forced on us (thank god for $25/month Insurance Panda coverage). What’s next? Mandatory iPhone insurance? We have taxes on top of taxes and our freedoms are slowly disappearing. Thomas Jefferson and George Washington would be rolling in their graves.

The thought police are here. If your opinion does align with the collective wisdom of the Progressive Dear Leader, then you will be assimilated. We are Borg. Resistance is Futile.

"...my Nevada Indians..."
Talk about a blatantly racist remark. Can you imagine if a white Republican from, say, Mississippi said "my Mississippi blacks." Democrats are so blind to their own racism and hypocrisy.

Until 1960, Washington DID have an American League baseball team called the Senators. The team eventually moved and became the Minnesota Twins. But you'll note that when the Washington Nationals ("Nats") showed up more recently, they did not adopt the same "Senators."

"Reid said. “They have tried to buy off some of my Nevada Indians and they have not been able to do that, giving them trucks and stuff like that." "My Nevada Indians" - does anybody else have trouble with that wording? Is Harry Reid saying he 'owns' these Indians? Maybe the DOJ should look into this. Where is the media on this?

It is ignorant of everyone responding to this post, to interpret Harry Reid's comments literally. He knows what he said. It's judgemental people like yourselves that make these posts laughable. At least Harry Reid has a good relationship with the indigenous people in his state. At least he listens to them and supports their efforts and meets with them on issues that is important to them.

U don't know me. I'm not like you and I'm not ignorant, nor am I a slave to anyone. Like most indigenous people in this country, I am very much a tax paying citizen. My loyalties like with my tribal people regardless of what part of the country they come from. Not like you all, living on my land like squatters without giving proper compensation. Perhaps if my people were given proper compensation at fair market value and not 2 cents an acre, we would have a little more to spread around. But spread around to the people not spread around to improve my own personal pocket. Let's speak the truth here. Taxpayers aren't nothing. You think you are all that. Think again. You are just wasted space. You let your people live on the streets, you let your people live in substandard housing but do you try to help your fellow man out. No if they are not tax paying citizens they are worthless to you. Well in our native society everyone has worth regardless of what kind of car they drive, what kind of house they live in, what kind of money they make. You guys are sickening. I'm sick and tired of hearing the woes of all the f'in tax payers. It's all about money with you people. It's really quite disgusting.

We are ashamed that casino took their workers to early vote or they just set up voting booths near the casino. He was 5% behind on election day and won by almost 6%. What a turn around. Don't you love early voting?

The Democrats are sooooo adroit at pulling out the race card to bludgeon their opponents. There are few things in America today more vicious than tarring someone a racist who is not one. It is cowardly despicable but that defines Harry doesn't it?

Isis is running through the mid-east murdering innocent people, our southern border is bleeding illegals (and most likely future terrorists), 6 million les people are working than in 2008, the debt is now 17 TRILLION DOLLARS, and we have an IRS that illegally targeted groups based upon their political beliefs......and Harry wants to keep the Redskins on his Front burner. What a moron. Thanks a bunch Nevada.

I love him referencing his 'indians". That is a hoot. Harry Reid is as dirty a politician that has existed since Lyndon Johnson ran the Senate. You want crooked, look at what LBJ did while he was in the Senate. I still don't understand what JFK saw in him.

Yeah, I saw it the same way, too! But while in the "crooked" mode, don't forget JFK's Daddy "buying" him the W.H. (After he bought him other elections.) I'm getting so cynical about ALL of them. The good ones don't play dirty enough to get elected & the bad ones keep smiling & con the vast majority of voters.

HIs Indians. Wow, I didn't know you could own Indians. How cool is that. Most Indians don't care. It isn't offensive to them. But Harry has his own tribe. See the Paiutes know they can get more in taxpayer dollars from Reid than they can get from Snyder. Reid will get them a new casino. Snyder just offered a van.

Reid is full of it. I grew up in Wyoming and Spent many years in Oklahoma. Both States has reservation lands. Both states have High School football teams with Indian names. They have teams with names like Braves, Fighting Chiefs, Redskins again, Indian Warriors, Redskin Warriors, the list goes on. In my 30 plus years in these states, not once have I spoke to, or hear any negative complaints from any Native American about school mascot names. Not once. I have and still have many Native American friends and I am part Indian myself. I don't give a rat .People really need to get a life and worry about more important things in this world than what a sports franchise calls itself. We have people in big cities that sit in their high rise offices in their 3 piece suits calling Wyoming and Oklahoma residents hicks and backward folks trying to dictate policy over things they know nothing about yet don't even know a arrowhead from a dream catcher. Life goes on for those local people and they still smile when the sun comes up and go about their daily lives. Why do we worry about what a sports team calls itself?

First it was Obama's negro dialect, then he can't get his Wong's right and now he talks about his Indians.
Please...tell me who is more racist than Harry Reid. And why does the press keep giving him a pass?

Harry, That statement is much more insulting than the name Redskins....... John Matuz, Yaqui

About this blog

Ray Hagar is the political reporter for the Reno Gazette-Journal and a fifth-generation Nevadan. Hagar is also a co-host for the Nevada Newsmakers statewide television program. He is the co-author of "Johnson-Jeffries: Dateline Reno," a book about the 1910 "Fight of the Century" in Reno that pitted black world champion Jack Johnson against the "Great White Hope," Jim Jeffries